Public Procurement (Amendment) Draft Law being discussed in the General Assembly of the Assembly

The General Assembly of the Republic Assembly continues.

After the speech of the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Erhan Arıklı, when CTP Chairman Tufan Erhürman took the floor again and wanted to take the floor, a discussion took place between Zorlu Töre and Erhürman, the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic.

Töre stated that Erhürman had spoken for 20 minutes before and asked the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Erhan Arıklı, to respond from his seat, and thereupon, voices were raised in the Parliament.

Töre, who wanted the bylaws to be obeyed, said, “This is the Assembly. It’s not a mountain top. It is not a meeting place either,” he said, while opposition deputies reacted to Töre. Then Zorlu Töre promised Erhürman 5 minutes.

-Erhurman

CTP Chairman Tufan Erhürman, on the other hand, started his speech by saying, “It is neither the limit nor the right of Mr. Töre to say ‚this is not the top of the mountain, it is the Parliament‘ in the environment I am here. After Erhürman said, „You cannot say ‚this is not the top of the mountain‘, because I am not a ‚mountain man'“, Töre said, „I invite you to abide by the bylaws.“ Erhürman, on the other hand, wanted Töre to comply with the bylaws.

Pointing out that Arıklı said that „one CTP member messed up about the ports“, Erhürman said, „All the stakeholders in the ports were here in the morning, they are all CTP members?“ asked.

Stating that they talked about the court decision and the rule of law regarding Ercan, Erhürman said, „When they say the state, what they mean is the tribal state.“

Tufan Ehürman, who said, “I am not saying anything to Turkey”, referring to the Economic and Financial Cooperation Protocol, said, “Modular international agreement. „There has never been such a disaster,“ he said.

-Public Procurement (Amendment) Draft Law…

Afterwards, the proposals from the committees were discussed. The Draft Law on Public Procurement (Amendment) and the report of the Economy, Finance, Budget and Planning Committee on the draft were read by the Committee Chairperson, Officialye Eroğlu Canaltay.

CTP Deputy Fikri Toros took the floor on the bill, expressing that public tender is a procurement process for the purpose of obtaining the services needed by state institutions, and noted that this should be done in accordance with the rules.

Stating that the phenomenon of competition is one of the basic principles of the tender law, Toros said that non-competitive tender practices will create an unfair situation in the market.

Stating that if the amendment in the law becomes legal, it will not only result in an uneconomic situation, but also to the detriment of renewable energy, Toros noted that another basic principle of the tender law is equal treatment, and stated that equal opportunity is a constitutional obligation.

Stating that the draft law, which is on the agenda, was prepared as a „delivery to address“ arrangement, Toros stated that the contract between Kıb-Tek and Aksa is expected to be extended for 15 years. Stating that this method is fundamentally contrary to the procurement law and principles, Toros said that with this arrangement, the energy strategy of Northern Cyprus will become dependent on fuel oil.

Expressing that what needs to be done is to extend the contract for 3 more years, Toros noted that the capacity of Kıb-Tek should be increased during this period. Expressing that proposals should be collected in line with current global energy strategies during this period, Toros said that the power plants in the country should be updated and capacity should be increased in line with the EU Green Agreement.

Stating that the amendment law violates all procurement law principles, Toros noted that since competition will be eliminated, the state will buy goods or services more expensively and this is not in the public interest. Toros said that there is no legitimate justification for extending this contract for another 15 years without a tender.

Referring to the recent purchase of fuel without a tender, Toros pointed out how much damage this has caused to Kıb-Tek, noting that this loss corresponds to 140-150 Million TL. Stating that an attempt was made to cause damage on a much larger scale, Fikri Toros said that it is not possible to accept this regulation.

Expressing that they agreed with all stakeholders that the amendment of the Tender Law is not acceptable, Toros said, „This is the greatest harm that can be done to the country, the public, and the public finances,“ and noted that it will allow many more works to be done without a tender. Toros stated that they would vote against the bill as in the committee.

From the place of the Minister of Economy and Energy, Olgun Amcaoğlu said, “Was the contract made and signed by the Finance Minister and Prime Minister of the CTP 14 years ago signed as a result of the tender? When asked „Just say yes or no to me“, Toros said, „It was done according to the procedures in force at that time,“ and said that this is not a reason for repeating the same mistake today, even if it was not done correctly that day. Toros also stated that a tender law that was in effect in 2009 that the government violated or tried to change is not in effect.

Then, CTP Chairman Tufan Erhürman took the floor. Erhürman reminded Arıklı of his saying, “What would happen if work would be done without a tender”, and the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Erhan Arıklı, noted that the dockworkers company was a private company established by law and asked what it had to do with a state tender.

Erhürman, on the other hand, said, “So, if it is a private company, you have to bid, but if it is a government, you are not obliged to bid;

Erhürman said that “Kıb-Tek was not put stone on stone on the basis of investment by the governments of the UBP” and that the opposite was done during the CTP governments.

Noting that if the investments had been made, these would not have been discussed today, Tufan Erhürman questioned why the Aksa contract was going to expire in March 2024, but why it was tried to be made hastily in April 2023. Erhürman pointed out that the contract also has an option to extend it for 3 years.

The Minister of Finance, Şan, took the floor and said, „You say this as if you wouldn’t do it,“ and noted that the other side should also accept this. Şan said that the extension cannot be one-sided.

Erhürman, on the other hand, read the relevant article in the contract and said that it is possible to extend the contract if the terms are continued without interruption. Stating that the bill that created such a controversy came from the government and that the Minister of Finance was “unaware” of the relevant article, Erhürman said, “What is the state of the Council of Ministers? We saw it once again,“ he said.

Erhürman, who also touched upon Amcaoğlu’s question to Fikri Toros, explained that the tender was opened in 2008, the tender was canceled because the bids did not meet the tender, and then the table was settled.

Erhürman said, “You will have to go through this today and you will have to accept everything that comes your way without the bargain in 2009,” Erhürman questioned what would be done if the contract with Aksa would be extended for 15 years, and if electricity was brought by cable before 15 years. Erhürman said, „There is an approach that will stay in your hands no matter where you hold it.“

Reminding that Kıb-Tek’s purchase of power plants was signed during the UBP government in the past, but this was not done, Tufan Erhürman said, “You do not have an investment of a single dirham in Kıb-Tek.” Stating that he could not see any justification in favor of the people in the bill in terms of public interest, Erhürman also said that they did not have an approach such as „whether it be a cable or a mud“.

Tufan Erhürman, who asked why we will connect ourselves to fuel oil until 2039, said, „The work done is something that will seriously harm this country, this people… There is no greater harm that can be done to this country.“ PLUG